Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Choose Eternity

“I
do not
understand what
I do. For what I
want to do I do
not do, but what
I hate I do.And if I
do what I do not
want to do, I
agree that the
law is good.As it is,
it is no longer
I myself who do
it, but it is
sin living in
me.
For I know that
good itself does
not dwell in me,
that is, in my
sinful nature.
For I have the
desire to do
what is good,
but I cannot
carry it out.For I do
not do the good
I want to do,
but the evil I
do not want to
do—this I keep
on doing. Now
if I do what I
do not want to
do, it is no
longer I who do
it, but it is
sin living in me
that does it “
(Romans 7:15-20,
NIV)

Those verses
written by Paul
in Romans
chapter 7, to
me, are powerful
and remind me
that, yes, I am
human, and I am
not perfect.
Being a
Christian,
sometimes I
think that I
have to be
perfect, and if
I’m not, then
I’m a failure in
the eyes of God.
This is a
thinking error
on my part, and
I believe a lot
of Christians
and those
investigating
whether to
follow Christ
fall into this
error of thought
and it turns
them from
following
Christ. This
verse reminds me
that I’m not
perfect but that
by grace I’m
saved and
through Christ
-- I’m redeemed,
justified and
forgiven.

You see we are
of sin because
of the fall of
Adam and Eve in
the Garden of
Eden (Genesis)
when they ate
the forbidden
fruit. Since
that event, sin
has been part of
the human
species. Sin is
a natural
occurrence and
to disregard the
laws of God is a
byproduct of our
sin nature. We
should not dwell
on that we are
of sin. We must
dwell on the
knowledge of
grace,
salvation, and
faith in our
Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, and
if you think you
can earn faith,
that is a
thinking error
also.

For example
Ephesians 2:8-9
says,
“For
it is by grace
you have been
saved, through
faith—and this
is not from
yourselves, it
is the gift of
God—not by
works, so that
no one can
boast.”

I have to remind
myself every day
that it is by
grace and faith
that I am a
child of God.
What is faith
and what is
grace? Well,
faith is belief
in the unseen.
When Jesus was
manifested as a
man on the
earth, many
didn’t recognize
him as the Son
of God even
though they saw
Him in the
flesh. Since He
ascended to
heaven, we do
not have the
luxury of seeing
Christ in the
flesh. I may not
see Christ with
my eyes but my
heart sees him
continuously
each day. As for
grace, it is
God-given
through Christ.
Grace is
empowerment from
God that enables
us to be who He
created us to be
and to do that
which He has
called us to do
according to the
gifts given to
us by the Holy
Spirit. Grace
gives us the
will and desire
to follow Christ
and do His will
according to His
plan for each of
us.

I don’t dwell on
sin too much
nowadays. I
acknowledge that
I’m of sin and
that sin is
prevalent and
that it is
always trying to
sneak into my
life. But I
don’t focus my
energy on sin. I
focus my energy
on Christ, grace
and salvation.

Look forward,
not backward.
Look forward,
not sideways.
Look up. Focus
on God and the
temptations of
sin when it is
presented to
you, and it will
flee from you
when you call on
Christ. For me,
when I’m faced
with a
temptation to
sin I will
quickly pray for
strength to
resist those
things I don’t
want to do --
but have the
urge to do, as
Paul stated. I
hold fast to my
faith and remind
myself that
temptation of
sin only leads
to dismal
outcomes and
moves, me away
from my
relationship
with Christ.

Let’s be honest
though, we
all sin,
even when we try
our hardest not
to. For most
people
committing sin
it is in minor
things every
day─not extreme
events like
robbery or
murder. Daily
sin occurs in
actions and
thoughts, like
shown in Mathew
5:27-28:

“You
have heard that
it was said,
‘You shall not
commit
adultery.’ But I
tell you that
anyone who looks
at a woman
lustfully has
already
committed
adultery with
her in his
heart.”

Even thinking
about a sinful
action is the
same as
committing the
sin. But don’t
fear, even the
great apostle
Paul struggled
with this as he
stated in
Romans 7:15-20.

For my
unbelieving
brothers and
sisters and even
my Christian
brothers and
sisters, I want
to assure you
that grace is
the
overshadowing
blanket that
covers us
through faith in
Christ. If you
don’t have faith
in Christ, if
you’re not
saved, then you
are
unfortunately
left out of
grace and
ultimately
heaven─destined
to hell. I know
this sound
harsh, but the
Bible states
this numerous
times throughout
the New
Testament.

For example,
Romans 5:21
states: “So
that, just as
sin reigned in
death, so also
grace might
reign through
righteousness to
bring eternal
life through
Jesus Christ our
Lord.”

You see, sin is
death and grace
through Christ
is life, eternal
life in heaven.
If you do not
believe in
Christ and
believe and that
he died for your
sins (John 3.16:
“For God so
loved the world
that he gave his
one and only
Son, that
whoever believes
in him shall not
perish but have
eternal life”),
you will perish
to hell for
eternity.

Can you imagine
eternity out of
the presence of
the Holy God,
forever? What a
horrid thought
that forever and
ever, you are
separated from
the love of
Christ. Christ
does not want
this for you,
friends. Christ
wants all of His
children, His
redeemed to be
with Him in
heaven. It is
not a hard
choice. Either
you believe that
Christ died for
your sins or you
don’t. Your
salvation is not
in the hands of
God, for Christ
freely offers it
to all and has
already died for
your sins. Your
choice is to
accept the
salvation
offered to you
or to not accept
it.

I hope that this
choice scares
you. It scared
the heck out of
me when I
learned of
Christ and
salvation. That
is why I choose
Christ in my
life. I want
heaven. I want
eternity with my
Creator and
eternity, with
love. Hell is
eternity without
your Creator
close to you and
is without love.
Satan, whose
goal is to
steal, kill, and
destroy will use
all his trickery
to try to
convince you
that you do not
need Christ to
go to heaven. He
will distract
you, trick you,
and do his best
to convince you
that Christ is
not the way,
that Christ is
not real, that
Christ is, well,
not Christ.

Listen, brothers
and sisters to
that little
voice in your
heart. That
little voice in
your heart is
God calling you
to Him. He wants
you. It’s your
choice though.
God gave us the
free will to
choose whom to
follow: Christ
or the world and
Satan. I’m not
saying that if
you don’t
believe in
Christ that you
are a Satanist.
I’m saying that
if you don’t
believe in
Christ, who died
for your sins,
you are not a
child of God by
default. If you
are not with
Christ then you
are against
Christ.

Matthew 12.30:
“Whoever
is not with me
is against me,
and whoever does
not gather with
me scatters.”

The choice of
believing in
Christ or not
will ultimately
determine if you
will spend
eternity with
Him or eternity
in hell with
Satan and his
minions. Don’t
think you are
too sinful to
come to Christ.
He died for the
sins you
committed. Don’t
think that you
can’t live a
Christian life
because you may
sin in the
future, for
Christ died for
those sins, too.
We have every
day grace
through Christ.
Just believe in
Him. Pray. Pray
to Jesus that
you know you are
a sinner and
that you want
His redemption
and blood to
cover your sins,
past, present,
and future. Pray
that you want
Him in your
heart and to
guide your life
to lead you to
heaven.

You don’t know
when death will
come to you, so
make your choice
now. You could
expire at any
moment due to an
unknown disease,
an accident, or
some other
action. No one
awakens in the
morning and
says, “You know
what? I’m going
to get in a car
accident today
and be killed.”

So make your
choice NOW.

Don’t wait.

Your eternal
destination is
dependent on
your choice to
serve Christ or
not.

When you accept
Christ, you will
be a changed
person. You will
be saved and
will spend
eternity with
Him. You will
look back at
your life as you
progress in your
growth in Christ
and you will be
extremely
relieved that
you accepted
Christ into your
heart.

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Take up your Cross and Follow Him

This blog is to encourage people to come to know Jesus Christ and to strengthen those who know Him already. To help provide believers and non-believers with resources to get to know Christ personally. To help expose teachings contrary to the Bible. To have a passion for God and share Him with others in order to live a life pleasing to Him! "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who "asks you to give the reason" for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. ( 1 Peter 3:15)

Truth

Modern translation of quote by Robert Kalley (missionary):

"Lord, you know all my weakness, my folly, my sin, my utter insufficiency. But here I am. Oh, do take me, make me what You will, send me where You please, do with me what You see fit, only let me feel You are with me."

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"The Bible is the Word of God. It emanates from the holiness of God. It reflects the mind and the heart and the will of God, and as such, it must be treated with a tremendous amount of respect. The Bible is not to be dealt with flippantly, it is not to be approached with lack of diligence, it is not to be dealt with in a cursory manner, it is to be dealt with tremendous commitment." -John MacArthur Jr.

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Eternity

"God has made us eternal beings. Every person ever born will continue in existence forever either in the ecstatic bliss of God's presence (Ps:16:11) or in the unimaginable horror and remorse of separation from Him forever. The choices we make, the manner of life we live and our attitude toward God, His Word and others carry consequences not only for this life but for eternity. Life on earth is short; eternity never ends. That fact is awesome to contemplate and in itself should cause us to live by faith in Him." -Dave Hunt

My Testimony (Brief)

I grew up Catholic. I went to Catholic school, was an altar boy, was confirmed in high school. I went to Mass almost every Sunday with my parents. Towards the end of high school, I got into drugs and drinking. I developed a pot addiction and carried that on into my first year of college.My belief in God at that time wasn't sincere. It was apart of my routine to go to church and never really thought about it much. My fruits obviously showed I wasn't a Christ-follower! On my Birthday I decided to experiment with mushrooms. I had a bad trip and was definitely experiencing "evil" and a "demonic presence" wanting me to die! I freaked out and left a friends apartment where I was tripping. I tried driving home. On my way home it was hard for me to drive because of the hallucinations. In the end, I ended up striking and killing a jogger with my car passing on that hill. I ended up crashing and was taken to hospital. I was eventually sentenced to prison. I had no criminal record prior to this or had been in jail. During my stay in prison, I began to search for meaning. I was carrying this immense guilt and shame from all I had done. To my family, the victim's family,etc. I wanted answers and knew God was calling me to Himself. I was still Catholic at the time a fellow Christian brother asked me to go to Protestant services and Bible study with him. I agreed. It had been the first time I ever read the Bible in my life really. Through sermons and the truth of Scripture being taught and meditated upon, my eyes became opened and I was aware of something I never knew before! That I was inherently sinful in need of a Savior from my depravity.As a former Catholic, all I knew was ritual, rules, good works, and no clear understanding of the Gospel of God's grace. But God spoke to my heart through His Word and I realized that salvation wasn't through being good, but that it was a gift of His love for me!! That Jesus had died to pay "my" penalty that I deserved.I surrendered and trusted Jesus one night on my bunk. I said: "God if your real show me, and forgive me for every sin! I accept You and all you have to offer!"Salvation is not to be based completely on experiences, but the Truth of God's Word, but God showed Himself strong to me that night. I felt His love pouring into my spirit. I had never felt that kind of love in my life!!! It was supernatural love!Since then, I'm free from that guilt and free to serve Him! I love the Lord and He has done so much for me since then! I"m trusting God that I would "walk in the good works" He has prepared for me!There is so much more to my testimony, but a brief testament here I thought would be sufficient.